Fairfax considers bike sharing as Silver Line approaches

WASHINGTON – There are more bike- and pedestrian-friendly improvements coming to Fairfax County and that could include a bike-sharing system.

The focus now is on the Tysons and Reston areas, where five Silver Line stations are set to open in about a year.

“We’re trying to make sure that to the rail stations, you have clear pedestrian paths, clear bike paths, so that people don’t have to drive,” says Tom Biesiadny, director of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins tells WTOP via email that the county is also looking into bike sharing.

“(While) the time frame is not firm…it would be helpful to have in place when Dulles MetroRail arrives,” she says.

Biesiadny says bike sharing is definitely something the county would like to implement and that the county is already talking to potential vendors.

Both say that it has not been decided whether a bike-sharing system in Fairfax County would be a part of Capital Bikeshare, but Hudgins calls the option “a very attractive one.”

Meanwhile, Biesiadny says there are projects to improve cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in the planning or implementation stages all across the county, including projects that expand bike lanes or fill in missing links.

“We are looking at a new master plan in the Reston area that will have a significant transit component,” Biesiadny says. “We’re working in Springfield and other major activity centers on their transportation plans, most of which are multi-modal. And in addition to that, we have a whole group of projects to upgrade our bike and pedestrian facilities, our bus stop facilties, (and) we’re looking at expanding our connector service.”